Little routines that quietly make life run smoother

[dongbibi]

I was chatting to a friend this morning and we realised how much the small habits matter more than the big plans. Nothing dramatic, just tiny routines that make the day easier without much effort.
For me it’s things like laying out school stuff the night before, doing a quick kitchen reset before bed, and keeping breakfasts very boring and predictable. It’s not exciting, but it means mornings are calmer and I start the day feeling a bit more in control.
It’s made me appreciate that I don’t need to overhaul everything to feel on top of things. A few small systems seem to carry a lot of the weight.

I agree re the kitchen reset. I make sure all the washing up/dishwasher loading and run is done before bed, it makes life easier to come down to a tidy kitchen in the morning. My others are making sure beds are made as soon as we’re up (I hate an unmade bed), and when buying eg a birthday card, I buy a few blank cards every so often rather than buy one at a time so there’s always one in the drawer when I inevitably have to write one at the last minute.

Sunday fridge reset. I go shopping on a Sunday and prep for the week ahead be it breakfast pots, salads, veg chopping whatever it is but I do this every Sunday. We have no canteens in the kids schools here so every day is a packed lunch the same as mine for work so I have everything ready to grab and throw in lunch boxes and bags for the week prepped same as whatever I can prep for dinners for the week.

Clothing wise I pick a few outfits out for myself and pop them at the front end of the wardrobe ready to grab out for each day so I dont have to think of outfits for the week for work. Kids do their own now as they are teens but when small I would have their weeks clothing out in a storage box unit so they were ready to grab and chuck on.

After dinner every evening clean up straight away and have the kitchen tidy for the next morning. Same with bathrooms after showers. Any clothing or dirty towels etc are popped into the washing machine before bed and when I get home from work the next evening the washing machine goes on while I am making dinner and then the dryer goes on while we are eating. Things out and folded and gone to rooms before bedtime.

Always make beds first thing in the morning. I cannot imagine a day where I left the house with an unmade bed and then came home to it. It would possibly tip me over the edge I think at this point in life!

I always plan my working wardrobe at least a day beforehand. I get my clothes ready the night before, even my jewellery is laid out. I prepare my lunch the night before too.
My work bag is always ready. I have a separate bag for work which contains things like laptop, lipstick, lip balm, work keys, headphones. I have different bags for going out.

Planning and prepping food at least 24 hours ahead, if not more.
Reset every room before you leave it.
Do laundry every day (5 people in one house); wash, hang/dry; fold; put away
Pick up rubbish and laundry in ADHD DD bedroom once a day

I never leave the room empty handed after seeing someone mention it on here. My house is SO much tidier and easy to control now.
It might be a handful of sweet wrappers, a dirty mug, or the laundry off the radiator but if I'm leaving the room then so is something that doesn't belong in it!

If it takes less than a minute (or 5 minutes if it’s the weekend and I have more time) I do it straight away. I try to use the time the kettle boils to do something- even if that’s just fold a few items of dry laundry. By the end of the working day that’s a few kettle boils and the whole load is folded and can be taken upstairs and put away (straight away as it doesn’t take long!). I fold in order so all tops together, socks together so putting away is quick. This means it’s not an off putting job that I don’t want to do.

As above, use the kettle boiling time and then the brewing time to do stuff, might be some exercise movements to prepping lunch

Every weekend, I iron a bunch of work outfits to last the week.

Put my gym kit out the night before, so I don’t have to think too hard when I head to my 6am class.

Eat the same salad (with something else, eg a sandwich) every single lunchtime.

Make lunch to take to work, every weeknight evening.

Make doubles of meals and freeze the leftovers into single portion containers for healthy ready meals.

All my socks are the same, so I don’t have to match them up.

Clean to a schedule. E.g. Mondays I do a deep clean of the kitchen, Tuesdays the dusting etc. The house never really looks untidy and I don’t spend hours in one go cleaning it.

I make lists for everything, what I need to do or buy etc
Don’t make anything from scratch apart from odd bit of baking. People stress so much on here about meal planning and spending all their time cooking. I just bung stuff in air fryer
Sort school stuff night before
Sort out life admin straight away, eg if I get an email from school to pay for something etc

I get work clothes out the night before, including underwear, and put my bag/shoes/coat out in the kitchen. Also get breakfast things out night before when working.
Ive always folded the duvet back and straightened the bed as soon as I get out of it.
Big shop is usually Sunday, so I clear out and wipe out the fridge that day.
I have a set day for washing towels and bedding, and a set day for cleaning each part of the house, so I always know where I’m up to.
Fluff the pillows every time I leave the couch so it looks tidy, turn the cushions every day.
All dirty dishes go straight in the dishwasher, sides wiped down after every use,

Some great tips. My contribution - I always make sure I have universal wrapping paper which will do for boy/girl/ adults so I'm not running down to Tesco an hour before I need it.

Shopping delivered on Sundays and I then put all ingredients needed for mon - Fri evening meals in small baskets in fridge.
also prep mon- Fri lunch and breakfast.
clothes needed for the week are sorted on Sunday .

Put my gym stuff out the night before, I’m not a natural gym goer and am doing it for health reasons.

DH always tidies up the kitchen before he goes to bed whereas I was always a leave it till the morning type…..his way is better, it’s lovely coming down to a tidy kitchen.

Have a look at Whistlefish for cards. They have some lovely ones, they do things like 10 for £10 and free wrapping paper when you spend £20 etc (might have made up the numbers from last time I remember buying). But it means I have a box in the cupboard of cards cos I'll buy a year's worth plus some spares up front. Saves so much stress.

Kitchen yes. Meal planning too, not all this spending Sunday prepping and eating out of glass boxes, don't have the energy for that. But a meal planner on the fridge where I scribble things like " pasta", "chicken", "sausages" etc on each day. Leaves me free to make what I feel like with said food but also means I know what's coming out of the freezer etc.

Doubles when you're cooking yes! Absolutely invaluable to be able to pull something decent and tasty from the freezer after a busy day

I always have SOS meals and snacks at home, so if you arrive home late / hungry / unexpectedly / after a holiday / ill and can't get out there is always something in. Doesn't have to be fancy or complication - a ready meal/bread/cheese in the freezer, baked beans, porridge, UHT milk. I love a takeaway as much as the next person but getting one because there's nothing in isn't a treat.

Same simple breakfast 5/7.

Dress in something like a uniform.

Delete emails, texts and WhatsApps as soon as they are read / actioned. Therefore the ones still on your phone are effectively only like a to do list. Have a “keep” email folder for things you might need in future

Ooh thank you for the tip!

Add items to shopping list as we run out, plus a weekly meal planner.

Keep a running list of freezer contents on the door.

I know it's frowned on on MN but I usually run the dishwasher, washing machine and bread maker over night so stuff is ready to take out first thing.

Having my own clothes ready is a huge thing as is having the kid’s shoes accounted for the night before! I’ve seen people say they clean their bathroom as their kids are in the bath and actually I’m the opposite, I think the time it takes while your child is in the bath or while the kettle boils is nearly the only time you dhould take not to do anything else

I also have a list on the freezer door with what's in there... particularly bits of meat wrapped in foil. So I'm not digging through each drawer to see if we have any sausages or wondering what the mystery foil package is... you just have to get into the habit of adding to it/ crossing off when you put something in/ take it out.

Shopping list one is brilliant. Although I had a friend once ask me how I got DH to also add things (she could tell it wasn't all my handwriting). I had to tell her I wasn't a mind reader, so if something ran out on his watch, it was likely it's something he needs, and he wouldn't get it if he didn't put it on the list.

We also try (we are not always good at this) to have a "spare" in the cupboard for things like toiletries, cleaning supplies etc. So we write it on the list as we open the last one of something like that. Means we (mostly) never run out.

I tried this, and despite being good at the shopping list stuff, we just couldn't keep on top of this one for some reason. Might have to try it again.

I really want to be more sorted with the freezer next year. We have a big one in the garage, and a smaller one in the kitchen, and both are rammed with stuff. They need a proper sort-out, but it’s such a miserable cold job to do!!

Very much second the Whistlefish recommendation - £1 per card when you buy 20+ and they’re really good quality.

I keep multiple sets of things in each room.

Ie A pair of scissors, a Velcro lint brush (for pets) in living room, bedroom and kitchen. Cleaning stuff and cloths in each bathroom and toilet.